Revenge of a Goddess
by Cailus Griffin
Summary: A year has passed since Reach, Earth's mightiest stronghold and most prosperous colony, fell to the Covenant horde. Now a human frigate, lost in outer space, finally returns to the burned world. They only want to survive...but amidst such horror, amidst the bodies of millions of innocents, the fires of vengeance rest within their hearts.
1. Chapter 1

**0630 HOURS, SEPTEMBER 11, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDER) \**

**SLIPSTREAM SPACE – PROXIMATE TO EPSILON ERIDANDI SYSTEM**

**ONBOARD UNSC FRIGATE ATHENA**

After 8 months and twenty four days, the warship _Athena _finally awoke from its slumber. Automated protocols began warming up the cold AI core, and hundreds of cryo pods throughout the ship began the gradual process of waking their occupants. The fusion reactors, operating at the bare minimum for months, began to slowly warm up to normal operating levels and supply the ship with lifegiving power.

The first inhabitant of the ship's five hundred complement to wake was of the electronic variety. It was a gradual process, as the AI, Monty, had spent the majority of the _Athena_'s journey in his own equivalent of 'sleep'. With no immediate need to hurry, he took several seconds to 'dust off the cobwebs', carefully running self-checks on his vast array of software and hardware. Montgomery was understandably worried. In the entire history of artificial intelligence, none of his brethren had ever 'slept' for more than a few days; he was now waking after a solid eight months.

The self-diagnostics came back positive, and after a microsecond to process his relief, Monty turned his attention towards the rest of the frigate, whose automated systems were already well under way reactivating the ship. At the fore of the vessel, directly behind the bridge, twenty pods disgorged their occupants.

Captain Hoshi Zhukov recoiled automatically at the feeling of cold, even as she simultaneously regurgitated a steady stream of fluids onto the deck. All around her, the command crew of the _Athena_ did exactly the same thing, accompanied (predictably) with swearing and curses over the UNSC's Medical Corps. Hoshi very nearly joined them-the CRF tasted like arse-but forced herself to stay stoic, and even more reluctantly, to walk out into the cold. She, like the rest of them, was stark naked, one of the unfortunate consequences of cryostasis technology, and was eager to grab a uniform. Not from any semblance of modesty, but because it was damned _cold_.

Everyone else quickly followed her example, and as Hoshi put on her pants, she asked "Ship status?"

"Nominal ma'am," came the disembodied voice from above. "All ship systems report ready for operation. Fusion reactors are in Beta-cycling. MAC gun is online and at 0% capacitor charge. Archer missile pods A-M are filled and ready."

"Slipspace engine?"

At this, Monty audibly sighed over the comn. "Still heavily damaged, but nominally operating at 5% efficiency. We might be the slowest interstellar spacecraft in the galaxy, but we _are_ interstellar."

"And you?" Hoshi asked carefully.

"Apparently fine, although long term effects of my...slumber...are impossible to predict. As you know, this is unprecedented."

Hoshi sighed in relief. "But necessary. You're our first priority when we get to Reach, at any rate. Speaking of which-"

"Ten minutes to transition," Monty supplied. "No communications received thus far, although given our entry vector and relatively low mass, that is hardly unexpected. After all, Onyx is classified."

"No kidding," Hoshi grumbled. She fumbled with the clips of her bra even as she walked the short distance to the bridge, which lit up welcomingly before her. "And our guests?"

"Still in cryo stasis, as ordered," Monty replied. Hoshi noted the tightness in his electronic voice. "It's worth noting, ma'am, that keeping three hundred cryo pods online simultaneously is a significant drain on our coolant supply while the reactors are under operation. I can provide only limited sublight acceleration."

Hoshi shrugged as she closed her uniform jacket to Monty's holographic avatar, who was himself only half dressed in his own holographic clothes: a 20th century uniform, for his namesake . "Well, I doubt we'll have to go to combat velocities in Reach orbit, but noted. Keep them chilled for now." Behind her, the rest of the command crew followed slowly, all still shaking off the effects of their hibernation. "Any medical complications?"

"Nothing significant," Monty replied chirpily. He glanced at the man at the helm console, with a devilish grin. "Feeling a bit...hot, lieutenant?"

Emile Harman replied with a firm middle finger, even as he typed in commands with his other hand. Hoshi knew better than to ask, knowing full well the effects of cryo on the libido of some officers, and scowled at Monty's avatar.

"Ten seconds to transition," he muttered hastily, noticing her expression.

At this, everyone on the bridge turned forward to the _Athena_'s large forward viewport. After four years prowling the frontiers of UNSC-controlled space, they were all eager to see the _Athena_'s birthplace, often named the second homeworld of humanity, and all held their collective breath...

...and held it.

Hoshi stared. They all did. Even Montgomery, with thought processes and reactions many thousands times faster than his crew, did nothing but stare.

Reach burned. The entire planet, from pole to pole, was covered in raging red fire. The vast oceans were non-existent. With no cloud cover whatsoever, the crew of the _Athena _had a perfect view of the planet.

"No..." Hoshi whispered. She squinted, desperately trying to discern surface details, but gave up. "Monty, tell me this isn't what I think it is. Tell me."

The half second hesitation was all the confirmation they needed. "Mass and magnetic field readings all confirm. This is Reach. Surface temperature is...inhospitable. From the radioactive decay, I'd guess it happened around a year ago. Detecting significant debris field in high orbit. Composite details match for titanium-A and known Covenant alloys." He paused again. "Reading _substantial _ Covenant alloys, at least twice as much. We gave them a fight, at least."

Hoshi closed her eyes for a second. "Didn't change much," she said quietly. "Any active signals?"

"Unknown," Monty replied. "The sheer amount of debris makes an active scan difficult. I'm detecting the remains of approximately four hundred and fifty capital ships in local space, and the remains of multiple nuclear detonations. Also detecting twenty molten objects that match up with the MAC guns."

In front of Hoshi, lieutenant Harman, the helm officer, looked vaguely sick. He was clearly taking pains to keep his stomach contents where they belonged, but turned to her anyway. "Ma'am, with all the stray radiation and debris, this is an ideal ambush point."

"Yes, I suppose it is," Hoshi replied tersely, and tapped a button on her chair. "All hands, we are now at combat alert alpha. Load the MAC gun, and bring the reactors to 80%. Helm, take us on a slingshot trajectory, out-system. Monty, wake up our passengers and get them to the cargo bay."

As the crew bustled in response, she leaned forward, staring out at her burned homeworld. Captain Hoshi Zhukov shivered.

Ten minutes later, the inevitable happened.

"Alert!" came the announcement from the ship's sensor officer. "Covenant impulse signature detected, climbing from Reach's surface. Reads...frigate class."

Hoshi stood immediately, her hands balled into fists. _Perfect_. _"_Get me a MAC and Archer solution, right now. Fire the second you have a lock."

The crew and Monty reacted instantly; the words were barely out of Hoshi's mouth before a powerful thud echoed throughout the ship, and a massive bullet was thrust out at the planet. Seconds later, dozens of Archer missiles flew forth, perfectly timed.

Tactically speaking, a fast strike was the best option. In a straight fight, the _Athena_ was no match for a Covenant frigate, which was superior in every respect; they could only hope for a good hit, and the opportunity to run like hell.

"Impact in five...four...three...two..." Hoshi gripped her fist viciously, and glared at the enemy warship as it rose to meet them. It tried to desperately manoeuvre away, but against a gravity well, the frigate's options were limited, and could do nothing to stop the MAC round from smashing into its shields.

The result was spectacular. Ordinarily, a MAC round would never be able to penetrate Covenant energy shields at full power, but this was a special circumstance, as the _Athena _roared towards Reach with all the speed she could muster. Coupled with the aliens' own momentum in the opposite direction, the MAC round's kinetic energy was massive; the energy shields crumpled instantly, and the round gutted the Covenant ship from stem to stern. The next second, Archer missiles detonated against the frigate's hull, and seconds later, it crumpled into a bright blue implosion.

Hoshi sighed explosively, sitting back down. "Survivors?"

"None ma'am," the sensor officer reported breathlessly. "Got 'em."

Under normal circumstances, this would've elicited a cheer, or at least some sort of celebration. Today, only grim smiles. A tiny bit of vengeance compared to the devastation around them, but vengeance nevertheless.

"Ma'am," her tactical officer piped up. "Gamma Company reports awake and ready for action. Eager for action, even." The willowy tactical officer hesitated, and a slow smile crept across her face. "Captain Abrams also reports ready, and _more _eager for action. Damn, they're pissed..."

"Fifty ODSTs beaten to action stations by three hundred greenhorns?" Hoshi remarked drily. "He's got reason to be." Looking back to the molten planet swiftly growing before them-the captain refused to think of it as Reach-she leaned forward. It was highly unlikely there were any more Covenant ships here, else they'd have launched a simultaneous attack, but there was something about this that didn't feel particularly right. Certainly the _Athena_ had destroyed Covenant ships before, but never in a straight up fight like that, and _never_ so easily. The alien ship commander had chosen an immensely poor ambush position; he hadn't even fired off a plasma charge, or pulse lasers. Admittedly he'd had only a few seconds to react to the incoming _Athena_, but still...

"Contact!" the sensor officer shouted. "Reading...UNSC IFF, 2906-92F, _Jolly Roger_. Frigate class, eighteen thousand kilometres to port." He hesitated. "Not seeing it..."

Monty, who had been quiet for the last minutes, popped up on his holographic tower, clearly concerned. "I've got no record of a _Jolly Roger_, planned or commissioned, in the UNSC Navy. That ID tag shouldn't even be in service till at least 2555. It may be a false IFF. I'm also having difficulty getting a firm lock on the signal source, around the L5 lagrange point. This is impossible. I should be ready _some_ mass."

"It's a Black Widow satellite," Hoshi replied with a faint smile. It always gave her a buzz to outsmart the twenty year old AI. He was incredibly intelligent in the art of space warfare, but often lacked a broader instinct in that regard, a comforting combination for any CO. "Probably placed there long before we arrived. Comn it. Helm, maintain slingshot trajectory. Slipspace capacitors?"

"Holding steady at 40%," Monty reported.

Hoshi hesitated, then nodded. "Trickle charge them from the excess reactor heat. I want a random jump solution as soon as we break out of the slingshot, and full charge _before_ we reach minimum velocity."

"You don't ask for much," Monty replied drily. "By the way, I've got an encrypted comn reply from that false IFF. The codes are valid, even if the IFF isn't."

Hoshi gestured as she stood back up, and Monty promptly stepped aside on his holographic podium. The image distorted a little, before revealing a rather unimpressive young man. He appeared to have a blend of Asiatic and African features, and an exceptionally serious face, even through the low-quality holoimager.

"Commander Abel Hamalki, commanding officer UNSC _Twilight_," he reported, saluting. "Apologies for the false IFF ma'am, but we didn't want to give away our identity to any eavesdroppers, and an encrypted signal alone might have been missed."

"Captain Hoshi Zhukov, commanding officer UNSC _Athena_." She raised her eyebrows at Abel's strict adherence to protocol as he stood stiffly at attention; very few senior officers actually did that during holo-conference. "At ease, Commander, and report."

Lowering his hand mechanically, her counterpart visibly bit his lip. "Ah...hard to know where to begin, ma'am. Time is limited."

Several of the officers around Hoshi rolled their eyes, and a couple even chuckled under their breath. "Start with the present situation, Commander. Forces deployed in-system and mission parameters."

"Yes ma'am. _Twilight_ is a prowler, attached to Battlegroup Halcyon, under Rear Admiral Gomez. One cruiser, one frigate, two destroyers; UNSC ships _Halcyon_, _Ghosts of Harvest_, _Waterloo_ and _Bombay_. Mission objective is to purge Epsilon Eridani of all Covenant forces. We've seen at least six Covenant capital ships since arriving in-system last week, including the one you just destroyed."

In an instant, every bridge officer turned to Hoshi. She knew that they each had a thousand questions for the prowler commander, but one was paramount.

She stiffened under their eyes, and asked "Is Earth safe?"

Abel blinked rapidly in response, but nodded. "Yes ma'am. Bit singed, but safe. The _Twilight _was commissioned at the Luna Orbitals only three weeks ago."

Hoshi nodded curtly, resisting the urge to show her relief. "And the rest of your battlegroup?"

"Holding position in the outer asteroid field, ma'am, on one of the planetoids. _Twilight _is on the return end of a cold slingshot around Reach, standard stealth and scout. An hour either way, and we wouldn't have seen you."

"Lucky us," Hoshi replied with a smile. Predictably, Abel's expression remained a rock, and her smile faded. "If you don't mind me saying so, four versus eight is a bit of a mismatch. How exactly is the Admiral supposed to accomplish his mission?"

"Mismatch, ma'am?" The prowler commander frowned. "Not any more, sir. Things have changed. _Everything_ has changed."


	2. Chapter 2

**0810 HOURS, SEPTEMBER 11, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR)**

**ASTEROID FIELD, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM**

**ONBOARD UNSC HALCYON**

Generally speaking, when junior officers pictured the life of the admiralty, they conjured up images of the vast HIGHCOM base in Sydney, or the gleaming monolithic spires of Beijing. Or, for space-faring admirals like Rear Admiral Louis Gomez, they might think of the shiny _Marathon_-class cruisers that formed the core of the UNSC; immense technological marvels, with big offices for their flag officers. Certainly this had been what Gomez had thought upon his promotion five years earlier. The irony of his current situation was not lost on him.

Although the _Halcyon _was a cruiser, one of the largest craft in the UNSC, the ship had never actually been designed with flag officers in mind...that, or its designers didn't think an admiral required special accommodation. Thus, when the engineers at the Luna Orbitals refitted the ship, they'd had to make do with what they had when installing an office for Gomez. The result was an office squeezed inbetween the Bridge and the Officer's Mess, and it was _tiny_, scarcely much larger than a standard Warthog. His desk was a shredded piece of deckplate from the _Halcyon_'s very first engagement, a 'piece of ship's history' according to the captain; however, the re-sculpted metal was an exceptionally cold and comfortless surface. The rest of the room wasn't much better, a bleak metallic grey. Gomez had put up a number of pictures and such to decorate the space, including a large landscape painting of the _Halcyon _itself, but the office was still ugly as hell, and more cramped than an HEV pod.

A sharp whistle interrupted the admiral's internal griping, and he raised his head from his paperwork to a small holographic terminal next to the door. On it popped up a ten centimetre officer, who appeared ten years older than Gomez himself: Captain Holmes, probably the oldest captain in the fleet. And most decorated, by a considerable margin.

"Got a message from the _Twilight_, sir."

The admiral frowned, and glanced at his watch. "They're two hours early. I assume they found something out there."

"Yes sir," the officer replied with a curt nod. "But you won't quite believe it. At 0655, Commander Hamalki made contact with the _Athena_, in Reach orbit."

Gomez blinked rapidly, momentarily floored. "_Athena_? A frigate under Hoshi Zhukov?"

"Yes sir," Holmes replied. "Hamalki went through all the standard recognition procedures; it's definitely her. They've linked up in a rough formation on the outer end of a slingshot around Reach, headed in our general direction. Apparently, the _Athena_ is more or less at full combat readiness. They destroyed a Covenant frigate right after they got here, climbing out of Reach's gravity well."

"Lucky us," Gomez muttered. He leaned back, running a hand through his raven black hair. "I assume there was a classified tag with that message, marked Eyes Only."

Holmes visibly raised his eyebrows, but nodded anyway. "Beyond my clearance, anyway. Hannah is forwarding it to you now."

In actuality, Gomez suspected that he knew what was about to be sent his way, but opened the file anyway. He skimmed the first few lines before sighing, then standing up awkwardly and manoeuvring around his desk . "Warm up the fleet, captain. Full combat alert. Disperse to defensive positions Beta and Charlie. The _Athena_ must survive, at all costs."

The _Halcyon_'s captain snapped to attention, nodding. "Yes sir, we'll get them."

His image flickered out with a splutter as Gomez stepped past, full of determination and a tinge of satisfaction. Today was going to be a long day-but at least he could get out of that damned office.

**0850 HOURS, SEPTEMBER 11, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR)**

**INTERPLANETARY SPACE, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM**

**ONBOARD UNSC ATHENA**

Over two hours after the _Athena_ had exited Slipspace, Hoshi sat in her command chair, quietly brooding. Of course, if asked, she would've called it 'meditating', but none of the crew would ever do that. Except, perhaps, Monty...but he was remarkably tactful, for an AI.

By now, Reach was scarcely any more than a dot in the _Athena_'s aft sensors, but it was still weighing heavily on the crew, and Hoshi. They'd all seen glassed worlds before, but the idea of _Reach_ being glassed was bizarre. Not even in their worst nightmares had anyone seen that coming. Now, as Hoshi looked around at her officers, she saw the same, dark look. It wasn't fear, exactly, or despair. More a realisation of just how close to the edge humanity was getting.

Hamalki's assurances that Earth was safe helped. Despite the need for minimal comn traffic, he had transmitted some pictures of Earth and Luna from when the _Twilight_ had last been docked, and Monty had duly distributed them throughout the ship. There were distinct scars around the planet; a small part of eastern Africa appeared glassed, several orbital elevators were wrecked beyond repair, and dozens of the orbital MAC guns were gone. However, the knowledge that Earth was there, and intact, was a comfort.

Well...perhaps not to everyone. The _Athena_'s passengers were a mystery to everyone but themselves, and clearly happy to keep it that way.

"Ma'am," Monty said softly. "Receiving live comn broadcast from dead ahead. Toughest encryption I've ever seen, coming from the _Halcyon_. It's a Command-level neural link, labelled...as the...ah...the UNSC Logistical Corps." He snorted in disbelief. "They _could_ just label it as ONI, ya know..."

"But where would be the fun in that?" Hoshi said with a grim smile. "Let the spooks have their fun, Monty. Pipe it into my neural lace, and step out."

The AI nodded, and gestured; instantly, Hoshi felt a sharp and brutal sting at the back of her head. It took considerable effort to refrain from wincing as she closed her eyes.

The moment they closed, all sound from around Hoshi snapped off, as if by a switch. Before her, surrounded in only a vague whiteness, appeared a rather young (and, she couldn't help noticing, rather attractive) man. His uniform was spick and span, with the bars of a Rear Admiral gleaming on his shoulders, and a businesslike expression on his face.

"Sorry to go all this trouble Captain," Gomez began. He had a rather soft voice. "I hate neural comns as much as anyone else, but the protocol is damned clear on this one." The admiral rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "How do you treat the headaches, anyway?"

Hoshi smiled widely. "Yoga and regular sex, sir. Does wonders."

Gomez's mouth opened slightly, before it settled into a smirk. "Hm. And I thought Moa milk was a good treatment; it appears I've missed a trick." His smirk faded somewhat as he added "To business. Project ORION III, codeword classification Patriot one, eight, three, nine, one. Verification indigo twenty nine, July 2551."

"Secondary classification Fraternity, four, two, six, nine, one. Verification green seventy seven, September 2552." Hoshi sighed, wiping her forehead. For some reason, the electronic environment felt quite hot. "Here's the timeline, sir. We left Onyx on schedule on September 2nd, and arrived at New Gaia on September 16th. The Covenant were glassing the planet even as we arrived, and had more or less finished. We were lucky to get out in one piece. The Covenant managed to detonate an antimatter explosive close to us." Hoshi's smile returned, although it was a sad one. "I used one of their frigates to shield us from the explosion, but the bastard peppered us with point defence lasers before we could get away. Mostly minimal damage, but I lost my birds." At Gomez's expression, she added "My Longsword squadron, sir. They were providing close cover from Seraphs. They-"

Gomez raised a hand, stopping her. "It's okay Captain, I'll read your full report later."

The admiral's interruption irritated Hoshi for a moment, but she shook it off. "Something about that antimatter affected the Slipspace drive. The armour and surrounding compartments are fine, but the actual machinery is completely wrecked. It worked well enough to get us to Slipspace, but our velocity-or relative velocity, anyway-was twenty times slower than usual. My engineers worked all the way from New Gaia to Onyx, but it was an impossible job."

"Gaia to Onyx...that would've taken a while."

"Yes sir. Twelve weeks, more or less. It should've taken us a lot longer, but something happened to local Slipspace that greatly increased our speed." She raised her own hand this time. "Don't ask me how, sir, because I don't have a clue. I've got the best starship AI in the fleet, and _he _didn't have a clue. Under the circumstances, I wasn't going to complain, though."

Gomez smiled grimly. "But when you got to Onyx, you saw a bunch of debris and weird radiation. Correct?"

"Yes sir. We Slipped in on December 24th. No sign of Camp Currahee, no sign of the orbital satellites, no sign of anything, really. The planet was still there, but a lot of the geography had changed. Plus a bunch of debris in a neat pile a few light seconds off. Some was UNSC, some was Covenant, some was...alien. Wouldn't match anything in our computers. I sent down some reconnaissance teams, but there wasn't much to see."

Gomez's expression was sympathetic. "It's a long story, captain. To be honest, you probably won't believe it unless I tell you face to face, rather than avatar to avatar. That does, however, give us new information. None of our probes have returned from Onyx since the battle, but now that we know the planet is intact, that gives us options." He stroked his chin for a moment, then shook his head. "Well, that's beside the point right now. HIGHCOM will decide our next action in regards to Onyx. Return to your report."

Hoshi opened her mouth to ask one of a thousand questions, like how the hell the planet might _not_ be intact, but held her tongue. Gomez was clearly an easygoing man, and friendly, but even if he was one of her favourite admirals, he was still an admiral, and she was a captain giving her report.

"Well, without orders and a crippled Slipspace drive, I decided the best thing to do would be to slowboat to Reach. I knew that if Onyx had been hit, the other colonies nearby were also at risk, and if I ran into another New Gaia I might not be so lucky. Plus it might add months to total journey time if I ran into another glassed colony. So we stocked up on food and water, then went into cryo for the trip here. I didn't expect...this."

"None of us did," Gomez said softly. "'Course, none of us expected the Covenant to hit Earth, either. It's been a busy year." He folded his arms. "Gamma Company?"

"Locked and loaded," Hoshi replied, repressing a shiver. Out of the entire complement on _Athena_, excluding Montgomery, only Hoshi knew the truth about Gamma Company, and it had haunted her ever since Ambrose had told her. "Security has been maintained. I had to clear an entire deck to do it, but nobody but me knows the truth."

"Good. As soon as you get here, we'll send over a repair team from the _Waterloo_ on a Pelican. The moment they're done, set a direct course for Earth." He paused, and smirked. "Obviously, the Cole Protocol does not apply. Straight course, maximum speed. When you get there, raise HIGHCOM, and get Parangosky on the line. She'll provide new orders."

It took a half-second for Hoshi to run through the logic, and she frowned. "You have a spare Slipspace drive?"

Gomez shook his head. "_Waterloo_ is donating hers for the cause. Before we leave, we'll just hard-link her to the _Halcyon _for the trip home. The priority is that you get home before the Covenant get another crack at you, and this is the fastest way to do it. None of the other captains have the clearance to take Gamma onboard." He stopped, and stood slightly straighter. "And make no mistake, Captain, the Covenant _will_ be tracking you right now. I suspect the only reason they haven't attacked yet is they need time to gather their forces."

Hoshi hesitated. "I don't like running from a fight sir. And with all due respect, you could use an extra frigate."

"Perhaps," Gomez said with a shrug. "But not today. Your precious cargo can be just as effective, and just as important, as this entire battlegroup. I can't risk that."

As he finished his sentence, a blue-hued man appeared out of thin air next to Hoshi, his centuries old uniform looking rather pretentious compared to the UNSC's.

"Sirs," he said curtly. "Slipspace ruptures between _Halcyon _and _Athena_."

Gomez snorted in wry amusement, and gave Hoshi a sardonic look. As they both returned to the real world, he muttered "The bastards just can't make it easy, can they?"


	3. Chapter 3

**0825 HOURS SEPTEMBER 11, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR)**

**INTERPLANETARY SPACE, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM**

**ONBOARD UNSC ATHENA**

As Hoshi opened her eyes, back to the 'real' world, the sound came back in an instant. The cacophony of voices, klaxons and the general hubbub of the ship overwhelmed her, and the captain shook her head, desperately trying to clear it, before she managed to distinguish the voice of her tactical officer.

"-Covenant contacts, dead ahead, standard line across our vector."

Hoshi focused on the lieutenant, holding her head gingerly. "Number and class?"

"Two CCS cruisers, one destroyer, four frigates, one carrier," he rattled off. "Also reading multiple Seraph squadrons. They're holding position, ma'am."

"Waiting for us," Hoshi said quietly. She leaned back in her chair, contemplating the wide viewport in front of her. The alien ships were too far away to actually see, but Monty projected a red holographic indicator on the window. According to the numbers, the _Athena _was only five minutes away from combat range.

"Weapons status?"

The lieutenant turned fully to Hoshi, clearly disbelieving. "Seven MAC rounds, one in the tube, the capacitor is at 100%. Pods A-M are fully loaded. Point-defence autocannons are full up. We're...are we going to engage, ma'am?"

The young woman was no coward; there was no visible fear on her face. However, she was also clearly not suicidal. Hoshi flashed an easy smile at her. "A bit of faith, please, lieutenant. We didn't sleep for the last eight months just to die on Earth's doorstep." She paused, contemplating the open space ahead. "Where's the _Twilight_?"

"They're still at dark protocols, ma'am, heading directly away from us on an out-system3 vector."

Hoshi wasn't particularly bothered by the prowler's flight. The stealth craft was woefully underarmed, and would be next to useless in a stand up fight; running and hiding was their only real option.

"And the rest of the battlegroup?"

"Twenty minutes away, heading to us at maximum sublight."

It was a perfectly executed trap. In an odd way, the knowledge that the _Athena_ was so totally cornered made Hoshi feel calm, almost frighteningly so. She tapped a control on her chair, and a small hologram of Gomez popped up on the holoprojector normally reserved for Monty.

"It appears the Covenant beat you to it, sir."

"No kidding," he replied bleakly. "The monkeys got some reinforcements since we arrived. That carrier and its destroyer escort should be trapped at Sigma Octanus, not trapping you here. I assume you haven't got any nukes?"

Hoshi shook her head. "I used them all retreating from New Gaia."

Gomez ran his hand from his hair, exasperated. "One Shiva missile and you could scatter their entire formation. Clear a path. Short of that..."

"Shiva..." The word lingered on Hoshi's tongue, the sibilance elongating the word. She glanced out the viewport; the Covenant battlegroup was almost visible. "Sir...I might have a way. But you'll have eight pissed off Covies to deal with if it works."

The admiral opened his mouth, paused, then nodded. "We can deal with them, don't worry. Just stay alive."

With that, his image flickered out to be replaced immediately by Monty, who looked at her expectantly.

"Monty, launch a pelican on autopilot. Once it's clear, turn us around and pump the reactors to 120%. Take energy from the MAC capacitors if you have to, just turn this ship around."

"Yes ma'am. Pelican away. Where do I put this bird?"

Hoshi smiled, although there was nothing nice about it. "Straight at those Covenant ships, if you please. Burn out its engines and keep it in one piece, no matter what."

As she spoke, an almighty roar erupted within the heart of the frigate. The engines, suddenly forced to burn far past their specifications, were now effectively in full reverse, and the ship's spaceframe shivered in response. Several bridge officers glanced at each other nervously; it felt as if the ship was shaking itself apart.

Ahead, Hoshi caught a glimpse of the Pelican. Its shape was completely obscured by its engines, which burned a pure white, the tell-tale sign of a fusion overburn. Further ahead, all eight of the alien ships fired at once, and dozens of plasma charges raced after the little craft.

"I assume this is part of some insane plan," Monty said drily. "Once I get within range of their lasers, I'm buggered."

"They won't let it get that far," Hoshi said confidently. Her words, however, were belied by her tight grip of her chair as it vibrated mercilessly. "Just dodge that plasma, Monty, and we stay alive for another five minutes."

The AI sighed, and closed his eyes. Ahead, the Pelican seemed to accelerate even more; by now, it was little more than a hunk of metal. Its velocity was now a respectable fraction of _c_ as it raced towards the plasma, which homed in...

..._and missed._ A last second, last ditch jink allowed the Pelican to skirt around one of the plasma charges, and continue on its way, straight at the heart of the Covenant fleet. The holographic HUD on the viewport indicated that it was missing most of its right wing, but Monty still had basic control.

"I rather liked that Pelican," the AI muttered. "Best maintenance record I've ever had..." His eyes opened in amazement. "Captain...the Covenant..."

Hoshi released her grip on her chair, one finger at a time. Ahead, the Covenant warships were scattering in all directions, fleeing from the rapidly accelerating Pelican, and leaving an open path for the _Athena_.

"Small miracles," she sighed. Standing up, Hoshi stepped up to the helm, and placed a hand on the helmsman's shoulder. "Turn us back around, lieutenant. Maximum acceleration for the battlegroup."

"Yes sir," he whispered. Apparently the drama of what had just happened had stunned him. Honestly, Hoshi couldn't blame him. Monty's description of her plan-'insane'-wasn't far off. There had been no guarantee that the enemy Fleet Master wouldn't call her bluff, and maintain position. Hell, there had been no guarantee that the alien would've realised what she was attempting, even when he saw the _Athena_ turn on its axis and try to run in the opposite direction; a futile gesture, done only for appearances. It would've taken the _Athena_ a least an hour to decelerate fully.

Regardless, it had worked. The Covenant believed the Pelican had a nuclear bomb onboard, which would've wrecked their fleet had it come close enough, and had thus done taken the only logical action.

"Captain," the tactical officer reported. "The plasma that missed our Pelican. It hasn't dissipated."

Hoshi frowned as she turned to the woman, who was herself scowling at her console. "Why would...oh. It's aimed at us."

She nodded. "Impact in ninety seconds. The plasma is losing cohesion this far away from their point of origin, but there're twenty one torpedoes out there. We can't take that kind of hit."

The helmsman swore under his breath. "We're a lot bigger than that Pelican, ma'am. No way I can dodge them."

Hoshi resisted the urge to swear as well, as she glared at the oncoming blue plasma. It was far less intense than she was used to, but no less deadly. A horrible silence fell over the bridge. The roar of the engines had quietened somewhat as the frigate returned to its original course, and the ship's murderous vibration had stilled to a more sedate thrum, so the absence of speech was painfully prominent.

"The Covenant are turning round," Monty reported dully. "Wouldn't be enough to catch us if it wasn't for the plasma." He shook his head. "Pelican is still intact, believe it or not. My counterpart on the _Halcyon_ has promised to pick it up."

The silence returned. It was practically deafening.

"Slipspace rupture! Dead ahead!"

The tactical officer's exclamation caught Hoshi by surprise, and she wasted a second in amazement before reacting. "Ready all weapons for the moment they appear. Let's at least take the bastards with us." She paused, squinting at the viewport. "Monty, I still see eight Covenant ships out there. Is there a ninth? A stealth ship we didn't see before?"

The AI crossed his arms, puzzled. "It's possible, but unlikely. Covenant stealth craft are exceptionally rare, and never used in open combat." He waved his arm, and a magnified view of the Slipspace rupture appeared on the viewport. A second passed, and a shape began to appear...a shape that was familiar. A few seconds later, a shadowy black starship less than half the size of _Athena_ appeared right in front of the frigate, its lights dimmed and engines dark.

"I don't believe it," Monty muttered. "The Covenant are the only ones who can do precise jumps like that. We've never gotten close to that kind of precision."

A sudden, heavy realisation fell upon Hoshi, and she half-fell back into her chair. "The UNSC has advanced, apparently," she said quietly. Ahead, the prowler _Twilight_ came back to life, turning fully into the oncoming plasma. "They're sacrificing themselves. For us."

The silence now become even more painful as the crew realised what was happening. Some closed their eyes, their mouths moving soundlessly as they whispered ancient prayers.

Many kilometres ahead of _Athena_, even as it raced forwards, the _Twilight_ turned fully into the plasma. Without any armour, the white-hot energy burned through the ship as if it were made of paper. The first eight plasma charges hit simultaneously, and instantly turned the human stealth ship into a molten wreck. Seven more followed, and the wreck finally blew in a mighty explosion as the reactor exceeded its tolerances. The rest of the plasma dispersed as it entered the hyper-hot cloud of gas that was once a starship.

Without prompting, the _Athena_'s helmsman entered a minor course correction, bringing the frigate around the newly created graveyard.

"The battlegroup?" Hoshi asked softly.

"Seven minutes away," Monty replied equally softly. "They should begin engaging the Covenant soon. I don't know whether they stand a chance, though. The _Waterloo_ is on an intercept course with us, and their Pelican will launch in ten minutes once the _Waterloo _begins to match velocities. The _Halcyon, Ghosts of Harvest _and _Bombay_ are outnumbered more than two to one."

The idea of even more people sacrificing themselves for the _Athena_ and its secret cargo made Hoshi physically sick. A standard prowler had a crew of ninety; between the three warships preparing to engage the enemy, they had a combined complement of six thousand men and women aboard. Five thousand were onboard the _Halcyon_.

"Monty," Hoshi said roughly, determined to get her mind off the numbers. "Brief me on the _Halcyon_. I've never heard of that ship before."

The AI hesitated. "You won't like it."

"I already don't like it. Just brief me."

Monty sighed, clearly discomforted, but waved his hand, and a schematic of the _Halcyon_ appeared on the viewport. "The _Halcyon_ was designed in 2510 to be the first in a new line of cruisers. They weren't that large compared to some other designs, but were designed explicitly for survivability." He shook his head. "Honestly captain, the _Halcyon_-class was a disaster. Only six ships were built before the _Marathon_-class cruisers went into production. They were extremely expensive, under-armed, and slow. In engagements with the Covenant, only two ships have survived to the present day; the _Halcyon_ and the _Pillar of Autumn_."

Hoshi shook her head in disgust. If this was the best the UNSC had left, they were in torrid shape. "Any good things about the _Halcyon_?"

"Some. One thing I can say about them is that they're virtually indestructible. The _Halcyon_ has twice the armour of a _Marathon_, and a unique internal structure that incorporates a honeycomb design and extensive structural reinforcement techniques. There are records of these ships continuing to function despite losing 90% of their armour and suffering critical damage."

"A pincushion, in other words," Hoshi said, shaking her head. "Only useful for absorbing enemy fire and giving supporting ships the opportunity to engage."

"In essence, yes. The only other good feature of the _Halcyon_ design is their ground assault capacity. They carry the second most effective ground assault complement in UNSC history, short of the old _Phoenix_-class. Combined with decent Longsword support, they're an army all by themselves."

"Which is useless in vacuum." The impossible nature of the situation hit her hard. Ironically, with her secret cargo below decks, the _Athena_ could equal the _Halcyon_'s ability to dominate the ground. The problem for both ships was that there was no ground to fight on; they instead had to match the Covenant in space, and unfortunately, the Covenant had an overwhelming advantage there.

That horrible feeling in her stomach returned, and Hoshi reeled. The crew didn't notice; they were likewise distracted by the lopsided engagement in the making, and the six thousand lives about to be lost.

"Get the Slipspace engineers below decks ready," Hoshi said quietly. "I want a new record on a Slipspace core installation when that Pelican arrives."

"Yes ma'am," Monty replied. "I hope it's worth it."

Captain Hoshi Zhukov closed her eyes, and didn't say a word in reply. Hoshi


	4. Chapter 4

**0841 HOURS, SEPTEMBER 11, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR)**

**INTERPLANETARY SPACE, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM**

**ONBOARD UNSC HALCYON**

Unlike the cramped, utilitarian bridge of the _Athena_, the command centre of the _Halcyon _was big and furiously busy. In an echo of 25th century military practice, there was no chair for the captain or flag officer; both men stood at the fore end of the bridge, before the tactical screen. On it, they could clearly see the developing situation.

Far behind _Halcyon_, and accelerating madly in the opposite direction, was the frigate _Waterloo_. The ship had been assigned to gift its Slipspace core to the _Athena_, and otherwise avoid action. The commander of the frigate had been rigorous in her protest, but accepted the orders.

The _Halcyon_ herself was at the core of the reduced battlegroup. Through the wide viewport ahead, the two commanding officers could see the destroyers _Ghosts of Harvest_ and _Bombay_, slightly ahead of the _Halcyon_. All three ships were accelerating as fast as possible to meet the _Athena_, which had just miraculously survived the Covenant ambush at the cost of the prowler _Twilight_. In a minute, the four ships would cross paths, although given the extraordinary speeds they were doing, the most the crew of _Halcyon_ would see of _Athena_ would be a grey flash.

And then beyond all of them were the eight Covenant warships that had fallen for Hoshi Zhukov's ruse. Realising, perhaps, that they couldn't catch the _Athena_, the aliens were arranging themselves into a familiar battle formation; all eight ships were in a straight line across the _Halcyon_'s course. Clearly, the Brutes commanding the starships weren't taking the humans for granted.

On the holographic pedestal next to the tactical screen, a tiny green figure popped up. 'Hannah', as she called herself, was a smart AI, and one of the more eccentric members of her kind. Her avatar was emblematic of this; Hannah had the wide, pointed ears of an old Earth fantasy novel, pink sunglasses, and a rather skimpy version of a standard UNSC Navy uniform. Her shoulder patch was somewhat telling of Hannah's preferences, and her history, as it showed an eagle holding a thunderbolt and a fistful of arrows.

"Two minutes until we enter optimal firing range," Hannah said succinctly. She had a distinctly Australian accent. "The _Athena_ will be passing us by in thirty seconds. _Ghosts of Harvest_ and _Bombay _report ready for action. All of _Halcyon_'s systems check out as well."

Gomez glanced at the captain of the _Halcyon_, who acknowledged the report with only a curt nod. Shaun Holmes was a veteran, just like his ship, and looked it, with silver hair, a deep layer of stubble and some even deeper lines. If Gomez was completely honest (and he prided himself on honesty) the aged captain intimidated him slightly. Gomez had fought the Covenant, certainly, but Holmes' experience and decorations far outstripped his. There was even a rumour at HIGHCOM that the captain had gotten personal with an ex-Spartan, but nobody knew more.

On the tactical screen, the Covenant were getting closer.

Clearing his throat, Gomez began his orders. "Hannah, link to _Ghosts_ and _Bombay_." She nodded, and waved for him to continue. "All ships, we are about to engage the enemy. _Ghosts of Harvest, Bombay_: focus primary fire on the CCS cruisers. _Halcyon_ will focus on the destroyer and frigates. Launch all Longswords now, but have them stick close until we start shooting, then combine strike missions with point defence at your discretion." He took a deep breath, fixing his gaze directly ahead of the battlegroup where Reach lay, too far away to be seen. "On August 30th 2552, Reach fell. On September 11th, 2553..._we take it back._"

**0842 HOURS, SEPTEMBER 11, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR)**

**INTERPLANETARY SPACE, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM**

**ONBOARD UNSC ATHENA**

Everybody onboard the _Athena_, even the mysterious Gamma Company, had their attention fixed on the developing battle. Despite Gomez's words, they all knew why it was being fought; to ensure that the _Athena_ made it back to Earth. Without the sacrifice of the battlegroup, the Covenant could comfortably use their precision Slipspace jumps to leapfrog the _Athena_ and kill them while they were still fiddling with the Slipspace drive.

This knowledge kept everybody very quiet. When the _Athena_ and the battlegroup passed by each other, many of them stood, saluting. It felt right.

"Ma'am? There's something you...might want to see."

Hoshi didn't even look at the AI, but nodded. He waved his arm, and on the small viewport, an image resolved that immediately caught her attention, and that of the entire bridge crew. It was a gun, a cannon of some sort, that superficially resembled the Gauss weapons utilised by the Marines. However, a bank of inter-connected boxes at the base of the cannon laid waste to that idea.

"What is it?"

Monty frowned, crossing his arms. "Honestly captain, I don't have a clue. When we passed the _Halcyon_ and the others, I got a good look at their hulls. These...whatever they are, are all over those ships."

The helm officer squinted at the image. "Sort of looks like a Gauss weapon...but the scale. That thing is twenty meters long..."

Monty nodded. "That's just the destroyers. The cannons on the _Halcyon_ are pushing fifty meters."

"Conjecture," Hoshi asked, her curiosity piqued. "Open floor, people."

For a couple of seconds, silence reigned over the bridge again. However, this time it had a completely different feel to it.

"Maybe..." the tactical lieutenant muttered. She manipulated the image with her console, turning it to the side. "This might sound crazy..."

"Story of our lives," Hoshi quipped. "Spit it out."

She glanced at the captain, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "That thing is too small to be an effective MAC weapon. And it's too big to be a point defence gun. Logically, then, it isn't either." Gazing at the image, she finished "Best guess, it's a plasma weapon."

Monty snorted in derision. "Impossible. I have full access to our ongoing research on plasma weaponry, and let me tell you, it isn't much. We still don't have a clue how to control the plasma after it's fired-"

"Your data _is_ four years old," the tactical officer countered. "That's when we last had an update. It's possible that they captured a Covenant ship in the meantime, maybe at Earth."

Monty paused. "Point taken," he conceded. "But consider the barrel width. It's barely three centimetres in diameter. The smallest ship-going plasma weapon I've seen had an aperture of at least two meters." He stopped, raising a hand to stop the lieutenant's retort. "Well, we'll see soon enough. It's starting."

He nodded to the wide viewport. On it, eleven images resolved. The Covenant ships looked distinctly predatory, especially the massive Carrier, whereas the _Halcyon_ and her support ships looked comparatively tiny, helpless.

Something about the admiral's confidence, his posture, finally broke through to Hoshi. When they had talked, he hadn't seemed weary, as she had seen in countless commanders before him. He'd seemed confident, sure of himself. As if he knew he was going to survive.

"Covenant ships are firing," Monty supplied. "Twenty one plasma charges, headed directly for our ships. Twelve for _Halcyon_, five for _Ghosts_, four for _Bombay_." The commentary was helpful, if not required. They could all see the burning blue plasma. "Our guys will begin firing MAC rounds in three...two...one..."

Right on cue, the three UNSC starships fired their counter-volley. Each destroyer fired two MAC rounds simultaneously, and a second later, the _Halcyon_ fired too. Then she fired again.

And again.

"Monty!"

The AI's mouth was slightly open. "Don't look at me, I didn't know." He quirked his head. "Seven MAC rounds, in total. The _Halcyon_ fired hers at the enemy destroyer. Our destroyers are combining against one of the CCS cruisers." He paused. The MAC rounds were travelling far faster than the plasma, and passed it quickly. "Impact in three...two...one..."

Onscreen, the four MAC rounds from the destroyers slammed into the nearest of the two CCS cruisers. The first three rounds smashed harmlessly into the shields, fragmenting, but they did the job; the sheer amount of kinetic energy overloaded the protective barrier. The fourth round, unimpeded by the shields, penetrated the enemy ship's armour as if it were made of paper. Half a second after entering the ship's nose it erupted out of the ship's aft engines having barely slowed down, and the cruiser began to drift, crippled.

The _Halcyon_'s rounds hit next, with similar results. Two of the alien ships were out of the fight.

That was, however, it. The UNSC crews had only seconds to celebrate their kills before the plasma grew closer, burning as hot as a star. In one, horrible instant, it reached the battlegroup, smothering them in blue fire.

Hoshi and the others sat back in their chairs. Monty wiped the images from the screen, his eyes low. There was no point in seeing any further.

"Monty..." The captain found her voice was dry, and cleared her throat. "ETA of that Pelican?"

"It's launching now," he said quietly. "_Waterloo _is slotting into formation on our port quarter. We should have Slipspace capacity in half an hour, assuming we don't have any..." His eyes widened, and in an instant, the battle reappeared on the screen.

The _Halcyon_, _Ghosts of Harvest_ and _Bombay_ were still there. Golden envelopes of energy shimmered around them, and beneath, all three UNSC ships were unharmed.

"Energy shields," Hoshi breathed. "_Shields_..."

"Our ships are firing again," Monty said quickly, as if to make up for his previous lapse. "They're entering extreme close range with the Covenant. Enemy is undergoing rapid deceleration to engage."

On screen, the three human ships bombarded the aliens again with their MAC rounds. Another frigate and the other CCS cruiser were out of the fight before the Covenant had a chance to sneeze. In response, the Carrier and the remaining frigates regrouped, blasting away at close range with their plasma.

This time, it worked. All four of the remaining aliens focused on the _Bombay_. The shields, already stressed by the previous volley, completely collapsed under the barrage. The armour visibly melted against the plasma, and the ship began a slow, lazy spin, air and gasses blowing out everywhere. It, too, was out of the fight.

"It's a bloodbath," Hoshi muttered. She leaned forward, praying silently. "They must've completely drained their capacitors to fire that second volley so quickly..." She paused, frowning. The UNSC and Covenant were turning away from each other, a temporary respite. "Why haven't they fired Archer missiles?"

Monty glanced at her apologetically. "Those cannons I mentioned are placed directly over the missile tubes." As he spoke, _Halcyon _and _Ghosts of Harvest _spun themselves, presenting the sides to the Covenant. "What the-"

Singularly, simultaneously, a dozen beams of thin, bright red light burst forth from the two UNSC craft. In an instant, they crossed the small distance between the two fleets and impacted against the Covenant.

The result was spectacular. In seconds, the three alien frigates exploded, clearly not able to deal with such devastating firepower. The Carrier performed slightly better; its shields collapsed, but the ship's sheer four kilometre bulk absorbed the beams until they stopped. Hundreds of fires suddenly raged on the massive Covenant ship. A portion of the ship's beak-like nose had been simply sliced off.

"I think you lost the argument Monty," Hoshi whispered. The awesome sight before them was beyond belief, beyond sanity. Nobody else said a word.

At first, it looked as if the Covenant ship was going to return fire, but Rear Admiral Gomez was clearly not in the mood. _Ghosts_ and _Halcyon_ turned on their axis, aiming their MAC guns directly at the center of the alien warship. _Halcyon_ belt out three bolts of molten thunder, and seconds later, _Ghosts _added two of her own.

Without shields, the Carrier was totally unprotected. The MAC rounds all hit at the midpoint of the Carrier, ripping into it mercilessly, and emerging from the other side. For a few seconds, nothing happened, then...

It splintered.

The impact of the five hyper-accelerated rounds was too much for it stand. The hull broke in two, visibly snapping in slow motion. It was a slow, painful death. A cloud of debris begin to grow from the point of impact, as the ship slowly ripped itself to shreds. The enormous centrifugal force of the rotating hull was ripping the ship apart.

The _Halcyon_ and _Ghosts_ turned, and gently accelerated away from the cataclysm. The _Halcyon_ released a swarm of small shuttles and recovery craft, which converged on the crippled _Bombay_. All around them, the remains of the once formidable Covenant fleet drifted, some of it still exploding.

Once again, silence reigned on the bridge of the _Athena_. Nobody said a word. Nobody _could_. For decades, the UNSC had been massacred at the hands of the alien aggressors; their technology had been centuries behind their enemies. Each man and woman on the starship had witnessed the Covenant slaughtering human forces again, and again, and again. Even at Sigma Octanus last year, one of the UNSC's rare victories, the _Athena_ had been one of only nine surviving ships. Out of forty.

One thing was clear. Now, after twenty eight years of constant, brutal slaughter, after billions of deaths and losing hundreds of ships...the tide had turned.


End file.
